Vampire Broods
Vampire Broods is a homebrew gang that takes a new spin on everyone's favorite bloodsuckers for Warhammer 40k and more specifically Necromunda, pulling from a lot of the background information scattered throughout the fluff.
The Vampire
Since before the dawn of the Imperium have the hungry dead dwelt in the shadows of the galaxy, preying upon Mankind and spawning horrors beyond number. From cathedrals of power to gore-spattered lairs they have supped from humanity's veins for eons, and though they wear the guise of Man they are no longer men but alien abominations, raised from the deceased in utter blasphemy. Some rule from within the Imperium hidden behind layers of conspiracies, while others claim shadowed realms where they rule openly in a reign of terror.
The Vampire is an horrid creature born of mad human science in the distant past. They are undead, the xenoblood flowing through them animating their necrotic flesh. Despite the fact each Vampire was raised to unlife from a previously human existence, retaining their personalities and minds, the process remakes their very genetic structure and mutilates their soul until they are transformed into something obscene, as far removed from humanity as any Ork or Tyranid. Though they are gifted with unholy powers and immortality, they shackle their mind to an alien hunger for blood in order to sustain their unliving flesh. This sanguine sustenance is the very crux of their existence, and though they can learn to control this vile thirst ultimately it enslaves them.
To the careful observer their pallid visage betray their undead nature; predatory eyes, retracing fangs, pale skin, and no body heat. Even so many are described as eerily beautiful, possessed of a dark majesty and cold power that can enthrall and terrify at the same time. Yet this is but a mask, a human skin they wear over the alien darkness of their soul, and many Vampires bear predatory mutations or unnatural rot that is reflective of the beast they truly are. Some have even thrown off the guise of Man entirely, embracing their true nature, fully transforming into monstrous chiropteran beasts; stooped with matted fur, a tattered wingspan, and a maw dripping with crimson ichor. If it can be said that Vampires have a true form, this would be it.
Drawn to the promise of immortality and power many have fallen sway to the Vampire, only to be used as pawns in their ambition... if not simply used as food. And yet some show true promise, or their Vampire patron has singled them out, and may be transformed into a new Vampire if deemed worthy of the Curse. And so have the Vampire propagated and festered in the shadows, slowly building their power. At long last, as the Imperium cracks at the seams and all reality begins the plunge into darkness, the Vampires are poised to to take it all and rule in a kingdom of blood and eternal night.
A History Written in Blood
Long ago when the galaxy was shrouded in the darkness of the Old Night the first Vampires crept from the shadows. As with many things the difference between history and myth is greatly muddled in the Vampire’s origins. However, in the countless legends held upon rotting scrolls or within crumbling dataslates there is one far more common than any other.
Long ago a forsaken group of human scientists and occultists sought a means of eternal life. Though such a quest is as old as humanity itself this cabal believed they could make it a reality, utilizing blasphemous technologies and forbidden gene-splicing. However, despite their greatest efforts the secrets of eternity eluded them. Meanwhile, the last of a dreadful and monstrous xenos race wandered amidst the ruins of a civilization she had singlehandedly consumed. In her wake she left naught but death, and she was known as the Dark Mother. The Dark Mother was an undead beast, her alien biology unliving yet undying, and she had sown terror and death across the stars for countless millennia. But she was the last of her kind, her people exterminated by the Warriors of Light, and though the Warriors of Light in turn went extinct long ago they had cursed her with eternal isolation in the galaxy.
It is unknown whether the human cabal found the Dark Mother or the Dark Mother found the human cabal, but somehow the two evils met upon a rotting world beneath a sunless sky. There the two struck a dark pact; in exchange for her undying blood the humans agreed they would become her children and slaves forever more, and together they would come to rule the galaxy. Through arcane ritual and bloody sacrifice the secrets of deathlessness were unlocked from the blood of the Dark Mother, and the humans took her Curse willingly into their flesh and souls. They became the first Vampires, and with their Dark Mother carved an empire for themselves from the anarchy of the Age of Strife. Within their Realm of Night they enslaved humans to feast upon like cattle while driving them to construct unholy monuments to their insidious glory. In time they learned how to pass the Curse onto new host through the freshly dead, and so propagated the first Bloodlines of the Vampire. For millennia the Vampires and the Dark Mother gorged themselves upon the blood of man, their dark domain ruling many stars and sowing untold misery for mankind.
But at last did dawn arrive and light broke over these benighted worlds, for the Emperor at the head of his Great Crusade saw this wretched domain and deemed it beyond redemption. The battle between the Emperor and the Dark Mother was apocalyptic, but ultimately the Emperor proved mightier, casting down this evil domain and putting it all to the torch. Yet some Vampires escaped the righteous onslaught and fled into the void, hiding among the shadows of many worlds. Slowly, silently, they wormed their way into the new Imperium that mankind had built, becoming a dark cancer in its very heart.
Genesis of Unlife
Vampires are parasitic undead beings whose feeding and reproductive cycles are debase blasphemies. While the true origin of the xenos abomination might never be known they are completely predatory to humanity yet inseparably tied to their host species. Scholars almost universally agree they are a bio-engineered race whose origin likely falls within human hands long ago in a godless time, making them but another horror unleashed by reckless ancestors. What spurred the creation of such monsters is much debated, but generally accepted that the Vampire is either the dark fruit of an attempt at immortality or the abject failure of this endeavor, perhaps both.
Despite human origin and appearance the Vampire is truly alien. For one they rely exclusively on necrogenesis to defile the dead and raise more of their kind, somehow using their xenoblood as a catalyst to reanimate corpses. The “parent” Vampire who gives the blood is called the progenitor, while the raised “offspring” is called the progeny; for indeed, they are now truly bound by blood. The new Vampire retains the mind and soul they had in life, albeit now chained to a terrible hunger. Agonizingly the xenoblood will rewrite the sacred human genome and rend it into something alien, and by the time this long metamorphosis is over nothing human remains, their very physiology twisted until they are a new species altogether.
The creation of a Vampire is a mystery to Imperial xenobiologists. Vampirism is inherent to their xenoblood, but moreover it seems that it requires some direct force of will on the part of the progenitor to successfully create progeny, tied to some metaphysical property that cannot be identified. This theory is reinforced by psykers who have studied the xenoblood, citing a dark resonance that is deeper than mere geno-corruption. By all accounts this creation process, sometimes called the Red Ritual or Crimson Ceremony, is an arduous and utterly draining process for both the progenitor and their progeny, requiring extremely large quantities of blood over a long painful process. Even well-fed it might be some time before a Vampire can feel “vigor” enough in their blood to repeat the process, as such Vampires are exceedingly particular when choosing progeny and never make the decision lightly.
When first spawned a Vampire is little more than a reanimated cadaver taking their first bumbling steps as a true predator of the night. But, assuming the fledgling Vampire survives through the slow metamorphosis, consuming enough blood and retaining their sanity in the face of alien instincts and bestial mutations, then they can attain monstrous power. A Vampire who seeks to spawn another Vampire had best be sure he is able to control his new progeny through superior strength, charisma, indoctrination, or other method lest he fall victim to the hungry fangs of a usurper. For older Vampires this poses little challenge as no fledgling progeny could hope to overpower them, but as the centuries pass and their progeny grow in strength they can indeed become a rival. A cunning Vampire knows just when to send his progeny elsewhere to start their own scheming and broods, propagating their vile race across the stars.
Hierarchy of the Damned
Vampires order themselves within a hierarchy determined by the purity of their blood. The raw power and potential abilities of a Vampire are based upon how potent their blood is, how much their bodies have metamorphosed from mere reanimated corpses into monsters. As such “purer” Vampires are inherently more powerful and so hold positions of authority, while younger and weaker ones are subservient to them.
Elderbloods are a legend, a myth to describe the eldest of their kind, truly ancient Vampires that have existed in unlife for millennia without succumbing to hibernation. If the legends hold any truth then Elderbloods are unliving beings of insurmountable strength and otherworldly abilities, able to rip apart adamantium, move at supersonic speeds, and conjure up dreadful powers. With complete mastery over their flesh they are polymorphic, able to twist their bodies into any form they choose, from flawless human beauties to nightmarish monsters or even wisps of shadow. They whisper through the dark etheric echoes of all who share their blood, manipulating galaxy wide schemes from forgotten tombs. But certainly, such primeval horrors are naught but legend….
Purebloods are completely inhuman, undead whose bodies and genetics have completely transformed giving them abilities well beyond mortal kin. All Purebloods have incredible physical abilities that defy their pallid appearance, able to rip a man in half or move as fast as a bullet, as well as a host of other powers and mutations often based on their own genetic quirks and Vampiric Bloodline.
Halfbloods are not completely metamorphosed like their Pureblood masters but they are vile creatures, suffering from the physical maladies of the Curse while gifted unnatural strength, speed, and immortality through undeath. They are the favored acolytes of Pureblood progenitors, competent servants that have the potential to realize true power, but not yet powerful enough that they could seriously threaten their masters.
Thinbloods are the newly spawned and little more than reanimated cadavers, the xenoblood coursing through their veins giving them unnatural life and some dark power but not yet thick enough to saturate their souls and remake their necrotic flesh. Should they have cunning and willpower enough to survive they may progress in the Vampiric hierarchy, however most will be destroyed, either in the flames of hunters or by the fangs of a dissatisfied master.
Dhampirs, although not truly Vampiric beings themselves, are also worth noting within the Vampiric hierarchy given their prevalence. When a living human is granted a draught of Vampiric blood it endows them with some unnatural prowess free of the banes of undeath, but often at the cost of their sanity. Dhampirs develop violent personalities and unnatural appetites, driven to feed off the flesh of their fellow man by alien instincts beyond their understanding. Furthermore, the blood has an addictive effect, and the wretch soon finds themselves hopelessly enthralled to their Vampire. As such they make excellent enforcers and bodyguards but little else. A rare few Dhampir can keep hold of their sanity, and such prized retainers are often groomed to one night become progeny.
There are other Vampiric creatures related to their xenoblood, devolved and mutated monstrosities that defy easy categorization or horrors spawned through dreadful powers and alchemical pits. However most such things are serve only as guardians and warbeasts to their creators and so fall outside the Vampiric hierarchy.
Bloodsucking Broods
While some Vampires are solitary predators stalking the night alone, most tend to cultivate Broods around themselves as a means of having loyal retainers and disposable pawns. These Broods are established by a progenitor that spawns progeny and other horrors to enact their dark schemes. Vampires will additionally enthrall mortals into their service via their narcotic blood, creating beings called Dhampirs, to act as agents in human society and daytime guardians of their crypts. With very little effort most Vampires can create Spawn as well; lurching reanimated cadavers, feral and ravenous but instinctively loyal to their creators, good as fodder but little else. As a Brood grows in numbers and power coming to dominate more and more territory, it begins to branch off into smaller Broods all bound to their ancestral progenitor, and a vile Bloodline begins to form.
Voasin, the Necromundan Bloodline
Even deep within Segmentum Solar have vampiric infestations arisen, festering in forgotten crypts and layered behind conspiracies. In particular the world of Necromunda with its sunless skies, warrened hives, debauched aristocracy, and teeming underworld proved an ideal breeding ground for the vile undead. The Necromundan Bloodline of Vampires, known as the Voasin, first came to the planet thousands of years ago when they corrupted and infested a noble House. Through their mortal pawns the Voasin ravenously consumed territory, resources, and power over the centuries in a bid to gain control of the planet, and they very nearly succeeded. However, in 003M40 Inquisitorial agents discovered their true nature and the horrors hidden within their estates, and so together with bitter rival Houses they set about the systematic purging the Voasin wherever they were found.
Though their cleansing was through, utterly destroying House Voasin, a single Vampire managed to flee into the shadowy depths of the underhive. There, hidden in the lawless depths, this Vampire found new and fertile darkness in which to propagate and thrive. Through the countless centuries his Broods have spawned Broods and so on over and over, but unlike the former incarnation of the Voasin Bloodline this Vampire, simply called “the Ancestor” by modern Necromundan Broods, seems uninterested in unifying his descendants into a coherent Bloodline. Instead, the many Voasin Broods act largely independent of each other; a few have crept back into the upper hive, manipulating the humans through webs of lies and treachery, while most have festered in the underhive, ruling their territory as a tyrannical fiefdom. Still others seemed to have completely devolved, revealing only in their monstrous nature in the darkest recesses of the hive.
Vampire Brood Fighters
(IN PROGRESS)